MMA Viking has learned from a source near the fighter that Finnish lightweight Anton Kuivanen (17-5, 1-1 in the UFC) has agreed to fight The Ultimate Fighter winner Michael Chiesa (8-0, 1-0 in the UFC) on the UFC 157 card. The event, that is headlined by women’s title bout between Ronda Rousey and Liz Carmouche, will take take place at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California on the 24th of February
Finland’s Anton Kuivanen won his second UFC bout at the UFC 149 in Calgary where he battled a hard fought decision win over Canadian Mitch Clarke. In his UFC debut Kuivanen dropped a decision to American Justilan Salas. Physically imposing Kuivanen’s main strength is his explosive striking but the Finn is modern day allrounder and has legit skills in all areas of the game. Kuivanen told MMA Viking earlier that he will prepare for the next fight at the American Top Team main gym in Coconut Creek, Florida. At the moment Kuivanen is training at the GB Gym in Helsinki, Finland.
Michael Chiesa’s UFC debut fight was against Al Iaquinta for the Ultimate Fighter season 15 finale. Chiesa won the TUF title by choking out Iaquinta in under three minutes of the first round. His second UFC bout was scheduled to take place on the UFC on Fox 5 card but Chiesa got sick just days before the fight and had to pull out of it. In the the Ultimate Fighter show Chiesa fought four times and won all of them, finishing three of his opponents. Chiesa is known for pushing the pace with relentless wrestling and finishing fights with great ground skills. He has finished his last five fights with chokes. Chiesa fights out of Sikjitsu gym in Spokane, Washington.
Check back for Anton Kuivanen’s thoughts on the match up and the opportunity to fight on the UFC 157 card in California!
